


Lucky Soulbonds

by idiotwithacatpen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Bumbleby, Crow!Qrow, Fix-It, How Do I Tag, I'm really out here pretending that never happened, M/M, Soulmates, bc I love soulmates but, but when is he not, chapter 12? don't know her, how did I forget about the soulmate tag, luck comes up way too much, no beta we die like men, qrow is kind of an angsty boi, rated T for like 1 swear, slight black sun parallels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22594471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idiotwithacatpen/pseuds/idiotwithacatpen
Summary: Qrow doesn't know a lot about soulmates, but he definitely knows a few things. He can't harm them directly, he'll hurt them with his semblance, and they're supposed to be his "perfect match." And he's never really believed in having a perfect match.That changes when he meets Clover.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee
Comments: 37
Kudos: 295





	1. Chapter 1

Qrow has never cared much for soulmates.

For starters, he didn’t exactly grow up in a family that told fairy tales to children. He and Raven had been taught about soulmates, of course, but only through lectures about creative ways to kill a Huntsman soulmate, should it ever come down to it. All he knew was that somewhere out there was someone who was meant to be his “perfect match” that he wouldn’t be able to harm. Only through very indirect ways could he hurt his soulmate. He’s learned more since then, but it’s still probably less than the average child would know.

Then there was the fact that having a perfect match sounds ridiculous. Love at first sight can’t be depended on. Even the concept sounds stupid- if you fell in love with someone just because you saw them, didn’t it mean you didn’t even love anything but their appearance?

Even if Qrow had somehow had a romanticized vision of his soulmate, there was his semblance. Of course. The big issue with any relationship, platonic or romantic, that he tried to have. Qrow couldn’t risk an innocent person’s well-being just to stay close to them. He knew there was no way to keep his soulmate safe, not even for most of the time.

That changed when he met Clover.

Before him, he’d never had someone who was even a little bit immune to his misfortune. Clover was his opposite with his luck semblance (and his green eyes, which Qrow had spent enough time staring at to realize they were the opposite color of his). Sure, Clover could still get hurt. But it was a huge relief to have someone who could balance him most of the time.

Qrow doesn’t believe in love at first sight, but he certainly believes in love. He’s felt it before, of course- for Raven, for Tai, and for Summer- but nothing romantic. Nothing like what he feels for Clover.

Team RWBY sits up from where they’re lounging around the chairs as boots echoed down the hall. Clover appears in the doorway, a sparkle in his eye. Like always. It dims somewhat as he moves to the front of the room, replaced by a serious expression.

“A Grimm attack cut the power to a large section of Mantle,” Clover says in what Qrow likes to call his Leader Voice. “Specialist Schnee requested that you all come with us down there to help fend off Grimm and keep the citizens safe while the electricians fix it.”

Qrow snorts when he sees Team RWBY and Team JNPR start bouncing in their seats, and a quick glance at Clover tells him that he’s thinking the same thing. Trust them to be so excited about this mission.

Everyone stands up and starts walking to the hangar without another word, the Ace Ops joining them in the hallway. The flight down to Mantle is tense, the silence occasionally interrupted by the sounds of a Huntsman or Huntress reloading their weapon or checking its transformations. 

Finally, Clover opens the door of the airship fifty feet in the air. He turns to Qrow, winks, (as usual) and falls backwards out the open door. Qrow grins. Clover never stops doing it on missions, and it never gets old.

One by one, the others drop out of the airship until it’s only Qrow, Yang, and Marrow, who’s flying the ship. Yang steps towards him. “Does my uncle have a crush?” Her grin tells him that she already knows the answer.

Still, Qrow splutters, “What?”

Yang seems to think that this is just more confirmation of what she knows. She smirks. “You do know I have a gaydar, right?”

“Have you ever considered that if your gaydar detected me, that means I also have a gaydar?” It’s Qrow’s turn to smirk when Yang realizes what he’s talking about and turns pink. “You can’t hide your soulmate from me, Yang.”

He doesn’t give her the chance to respond, to make an excuse, as he jumps out of the airship. He can’t deny his crush and she can’t deny that Blake is her soulmate. Not when they’re both so painfully obvious.

The second Qrow lands, a Sabyr lunges at him. He dispatches it in a twirl of Harbinger and scans the street for the others, his gaze landing on Ruby. She’s a whirlwind of petals as she weaves around the three Megoliaths, slashing and retreating before they can strike. Qrow sees the family she’s trying to protect and is running for her in an instant, slashing the head off one.

Ruby dispatches the other two with ease after the third is dead, having been too busy trying to distract all three of them to land a killing blow. She grins at Qrow, her mouth forming her thanks- and that’s when the dying Megoliath lurches and starts falling on top of the cowering family.

Qrow raises his scythe, trying to push the Grimm away, but it’s still alive and heavy. “Ruby!” He barks. His niece is there in an instant, using her petal burst to carry each person away one by one.

It’s not fast enough. By the time Ruby gets the second child to a safe spot, Qrow can’t hold the Grimm anymore. He considers how to shove the two people behind him out of the way-

Clover comes from nowhere- or rather, Kingfisher does. A cord wraps around the Megoliath, and Qrow’s head jerks to the side to watch Clover yank his weapon with all his might. The Grimm nearly crashes into a building, but at the last second, it swerves and dissolves into black mist before it hits the ground.

Their eyes meet. Qrow gives Clover a grateful nod and turns back to the family only to find that Ruby has already started escorting them to the nearest shelter. He transforms Harbinger into a sword and looks around again. When he’s positive no civilian or Ace Op can see him, he shifts into a crow and flies off.

Qrow sees the pack of Sabyrs heading toward Clover about a block away and lands in front of them where Clover still can’t see him transform. He stabs the first few with his sword, but when they swarm him, his scythe comes out and devastates the entire pack. Qrow finishes off the stragglers with a few gunshots as he makes his way to Clover.

“Nice job,” he hears Clover call from across the street. A Megoliath charges at him from behind, but he steps to the side, hooks it easily, and tosses it towards Qrow.

Qrow doesn’t realize he was staring until he remembers the Grimm and barely gets his scythe up in time to slice it cleanly in half. He sends a sheepish grin to Clover, who returns it.

Despite the fact that he knows it’s likely to invite something to pounce on him, Qrow pauses in the battle to admire Clover as he battles with the next Grimm, his hook occasionally knocking a piece of debris away from a house.

He would definitely hate to fight Clover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot how annoying pronouns are for gay fanfiction


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> qrow does stuff he hates to do

_I always have to do things I hate_ , Qrow thinks as Clover charges towards him, his beautiful green gaze slightly sad but determined all the same. He starts running too, and they meet in a whirlwind of Kingfisher and Harbinger lashing out at each other. Nothing he does to Clover seems to have much effect, not that he’s trying that hard. From the way Clover’s strikes are just a little gentle, he can tell he’s not the only one holding back.

The real problem starts when Tyrian appears and joins the fight. Qrow decides that Tyrian is a bigger issue and turns to attack him, expecting Clover to evaluate the situation like he did.

But he doesn’t. Qrow feels Harbinger being jerked away from him, and the millisecond it takes for him to look at Clover’s general direction in shock, Tyrian knocks him into the snow.

Luckily, Tyrian moves to attack Clover next, giving him the opportunity to run for his weapon. Qrow reaches it and returns to Tyrian before the scorpion Faunus can attack Clover again, slashing furiously. “Me and you have a score to settle,” he growls. And it’s not just about the time he poisoned him, it’s about his entire faction and how they split his friends apart.

“Oh, I agree,” Tyrian says as he dodges every swing, a mad grin on his face. “So what’s say we put the kid to bed and then finish it?”

Qrow glances at Clover and sees fear- real fear- flash across his face, if only for a moment. He weighs his options for the briefest of moments, but the betrayal takes over and has him running alongside Tyrian, his weapon at the ready.

The battle is a blur, but the flashes that he does process are all similar. Clover fights with both Kingfisher and his stupid horseshoe, his eyes glowing the faintest bit to counter Qrow as both of them amplify their semblances. They land occasional hits on the outnumbered Ace Op, but Tyrian does far more damage.

Qrow’s sword lands in the snow, and he hesitates for a slight second before running at Clover to punch him in the side with all his strength. It doesn’t break his aura, but Clover falters and Qrow sweeps his feet out from under him, dropping him harshly in the snow. That’s when the ripples of the same color of Clover’s eyes pass over him, signifying his lack of Aura.

“Why couldn’t you just do the right thing instead of the thing you were told?” Qrow snarls amidst his panting, some of the hurt shining through despite his attempt to mask it.

Clover shakily starts to stand up. “Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. I trust James with my life!” His gaze his pleading- pleading for what? Forgiveness? This late into the battle? Clover’s made it clear where he stands. “I wanted to trust you,” he says.

Maybe he’s going to say more, but that possibility goes out the window when something gleams behind Clover. Qrow tries to cry out a warning, but his voice fails him. Tyrian plunges Harbinger into Clover’s chest.

Except the blade just bounces off, hitting Tyrian with its hilt instead. The amount of force Tyrian used ends up as his undoing, and his aura shatters. 

Clover blinks and then punches him squarely in the face. Tyrian’s nose breaks with a loud crunch and he falls back into the snow.

Qrow takes a few seconds to process. He assumes that Clover’s aura is just unusually quick at regeneration, so he starts striding across the snow, trying to find an opening to get Harbinger.

He’s surprised when instead of keeping Harbinger from Qrow, Clover turns and throws his own weapon twenty feet away in the snow. Clover turns back to Qrow, eyeing him warily as he slowly picks up Harbinger.

“What?” Qrow is forced to ask. His gaze drifts to his sword and then back to Clover. “Did you just do the thing where you throw the sandwich into the lake and bite the rock?”

The Ace Op only shakes his head and holds Harbinger out to him. And that’s when it clicks. Qrow can’t hurt him. Neither can Harbinger, because he’s a Huntsman and he’s used Harbinger for a long time. It’s a part of him, and he can’t hurt his soulmate.

“Oh.”

Clover smiles faintly. “I had a feeling.”

“And yet you still prioritized arresting me over a mass murderer?” Qrow growls.

The smile fades. “You teamed up with said mass murderer.”

“That’s because you were both my enemies and only one of you made me an offer!”

“That still doesn’t make sense, Qrow.” Clover shakes his head. “Look, I know I made a mistake-”

Qrow doesn’t want to hear anything else. The rational part of his brain is insisting that they can’t really blame each other for this, that they don’t know exactly whose fault it is. But he’s not exactly listening to that part, so he blames Clover and leaves it at that.

Something snaps in him and he knocks Harbinger aside, lunging for Tyrian’s weapon. As long as he doesn’t think about it too much, it should be counted as Tyrian’s all the same. It comes off fairly easily with a good tug. Qrow stands up and points it at Clover. He doesn’t mean to kill him, but he doesn’t want Clover to follow. Surely his aura will heal a shallow cut?

Qrow prepares to strike while Clover is still in shock, but one look into his eyes stops him. His wrist shakes. Tyrian’s weapon falls to the ground. Sighing, Qrow says, “Being soulmates doesn’t mean anything. You’ve made it clear where your allegiance really lies. I’m not going to go with you just because we’re _destined to be together_.” He spits out the last words as mockingly as he can, wanting Clover to understand that he’s done being betrayed by his friends.

Clover’s mouth opens, but before he can say anything, Qrow waves a hand to silence him. “No. I don’t want to hear it.” He hears the airship approaching behind him and knows he has to leave. 

Picking up Harbinger and changing it to its smallest size, he stares at Clover one last time, trying to remember his face. “Goodbye, Clover.”

He shifts and flies off, a single feather falling from his bird form. It’s almost poetic. Clover picks up the feather and looks back at the sky, looking stunned. The Ace Operative’s lips form two words that Qrow thinks are _Goodbye, Qrow._

Qrow turns his head away from his soulmate and looks up at Atlas, far above. He’ll have to land somewhere to call Ruby and Yang so he can find them. He hopes they’re still okay. He hopes that they can fix this mess before it’s too late.

And he hopes that he never has to see Clover again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> given the current trend of Qrow doing things he doesn't want to do, you should probably be able to guess what's about to happen.

Predictably, Qrow sees Clover again, because his luck is just that bad.

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, mostly because they’re fighting to survive. 

Qrow glances once at the reddish palace in the distance and wishes he was there with Oscar and Team RWBY. Instead, he’s here, battling all the Grimm and Salem’s lieutenants to keep them away from the people inside the palace. There are so many people- people from Vacuo and Vale and Menagerie and Mistral- so it’s not a surprise that the Atlesians show up too.

Penny swoops down from the skies in a beam of green, her swords swirling in the air beside her. Winter drops down next to him and splits her weapon so she has a sword in each hand. The Atlesian fleet emerges from the clouds in a flurry of white airships. Qrow doesn’t remember feeling so relieved in his life as he grins at them and lunges back into the battle.

He realizes he may have overestimated the energy he has left when he tries to fight a Sphynx alone. They both weave and dodge each other’s attacks, but Qrow’s tiring much faster than the Grimm and he knows it. Still, he manages to cut off its wings and weaken it to the point where it can only snap weakly at him.

A stray chunk of rock comes flying through the air from where Nora is practically smashing the entire ground just as Qrow lands the final blow, knocking him backwards. The world seems to slow as he flies through the air towards the black pool of Grimm.

At the last second, a cord wraps around his wrist and pulls him back to solid ground. Qrow knows he’s there before he looks up.

Clover watches him as Kingfisher’s cord returns. He wears the same sleeveless outfit as always, which begs the question of if Clover’s semblance is secretly that he never gets cold. He inclines his head and gestures at the Grimm around him in a silent offer.

Qrow knows he shouldn’t, but he still pauses in the middle of the battle, planting Harbinger in the ground to lean on it. He considers Clover’s offer while the Ace Operative stares at him, the slightest hint of desperation in his gaze.

As much as he hates to admit it, he works well with Clover. They can time their attacks together well, Clover can protect himself from his semblance, and they can’t hurt each other. What more could he ask for?

So Qrow nods, somewhat reluctantly, and watches the face he hasn’t seen in years light up with a grin that’s still bright as ever. Clover turns to a Beringel and raises Kingfisher.

Qrow leaps with Harbinger extended. The Beringel prepares to swing, but Kingfisher yanks its arm back as Qrow plunges his scythe into the Grimm’s chest. It howls in pain just as Qrow shoots it in the throat, effectively shutting it up. He lands on his feet as the Grimm dissolves into nothingness.

Before he can even stop to think, Clover hooks a huge Nevermore and yanks its head away from where Jaune is fighting it. The blond Huntsman seizes the opportunity to try to cut off its head.

The Nevermore screeches and tosses its head, knocking Jaune over. Clover tries to hold it down, but he still goes flying. As he soars through the air, the Nevermore takes flight in a blast of wind that sends Jaune back to his knees. Clover barely holds on, still hooked on the giant Grimm.

If they had only been training with one of Weiss or Winter’s summons, Qrow would have laughed for days. Unfortunately for him, they’re not training. He turns into a bird and takes off after Clover, flying as fast as he can. 

Right as he’s about to be under Clover, the Nevermore shakes its head and dislodges the helpless Huntsman, sending him plummeting down to the hard rocks below. Qrow changes direction in an instant and dives, shifting back just in time to catch Clover.

The impact sends them both tumbling on the ground, coming to a stop three feet away from the pools of Grimm. Qrow scrambles to his feet and pulls out his scythe, ready to defend his partner.

Clover comes sauntering back to him, no scratch or bruise to be seen. “My _hero_ ,” he smirks, posing dramatically. In a slightly more serious tone, he asks, “Lucky catch?”

“Hmmm… no. I’d chalk that one up to talent,” Qrow quotes in a horrible imitation of Clover’s voice. He swings Harbinger behind him and feels it connect with the Beowolf sneaking up on them. 

“Why do you remember that?”

“Why do _you_ \- you know what, it doesn’t matter. Just shut up and fight.”

Clover salutes before jumping back into the fray. Together, they fight through a whole horde of Grimm. Qrow almost smiles back at Clover, but he catches a glimpse of Ren falling to the ground and Kingfisher’s hook flying back through the air. Qrow doesn’t know what inspires him to do it, but in an instant, he jumps to grab it and yanks hard.

Luckily, Clover knows about Blake and Yang’s team attack with Gambol Shroud. He goes along with it and flies through the air, knocking the Alpha Beowolf off of Ren and landing in a smooth movement.

Qrow releases the hook side of Kingfisher and starts racing toward Clover, clearing a path with Harbinger. Clover meets him halfway and starts to say something before they’re interrupted by Tyrian’s scream of triumph. Nora stumbles and falls, and Tyrian goes for the kill.

Shooting at Tyrian a few times, Qrow shifts into a bird and flies over, transforming back to kick Tyrian in the face. The Faunus stumbles, panting, but his insane smile is still plastered on his face. His tail jerks up and gleams.

Kingfisher comes out of nowhere and catches Tyrian’s fake tail, holding it away from Qrow as Clover runs over. Tyrian dodges Qrow’s scythe as he untangles his tail.

“The lovebirds are back together!” Tyrian cheers, clapping his hands together. His mock glee lasts only for a second before his tail twitches up again and he attacks. Qrow glances at Clover, whose eyes are flicking between him and Nora, and knows what he wants him to do.

As Tyrian lunges, Clover doesn’t try to attack and instead dives for Nora, flicking the clover pin that he still has after all this time. Qrow anticipates this and amplifies his semblance in a pulse of misfortune so terrible that a spray of stray bullets shoots out of the dust. They shatter Tyrian’s aura right in time for Qrow to bring Harbinger crashing down on his neck.

As he swings, Qrow considers if he really wants to kill him. It doesn’t take long for him to remember the poisoning, the attacks, the murders, nearly killing his soulmate, and the fact that he’s working for their main enemy. They’re going to kill Tyrian and his goddess today or die trying.

With that final thought, he lets Harbinger continue its course and feels it connect with flesh. Blood splatters on his pants and he winces.

Qrow doesn’t even look at Tyrian and turns to Clover and Nora, hoping that his partner was able to block all of the bad luck. Clover, looking slightly dustier than when he was last standing, looks back at him. His eyes are wide, but he looks unharmed.

“Are you okay?” Qrow says to both of them. They nod and struggle to their feet.

That’s when he looks up and sees it. High in the sky, the looming black clouds give way to a massive Grimm just like the one they saw in Atlas years ago. A Whale.

Qrow looks around the battle and sees Huntsmen faltering everywhere. There’s so many of them here to stop Salem, but they can’t kill the thing in their tired state. He turns to Clover. “I guess this is goodbye for real this time.”

Clover seems to be thinking the same thing. He gazes at Qrow for a long second and says, “I’m sorry. For everything.” 

Meeting his eyes proves to be difficult. Qrow looks at him for a moment and is nearly brought to his knees by the sadness and fear and fondness in his partner’s- _soulmate’s_ eyes. Finally, he says, “I’m sorry I was a stubborn asshole about forgiving you all this time.”

Despite their approaching end, Clover laughs. “If this is the end, for what it’s worth, the time I spent with you was the best of my life.”

Qrow doesn’t get the chance to respond before Salem’s palace erupts in a beam of white light. It grows wider, gaining speed as it expands. He grabs Clover’s hand and squeezes hard.

This time, the Grimm pause. They look up at the sky and disintegrate one by one as the white light approaches them. Qrow realizes what it is and thanks the gods that Ruby inherited her mother’s eyes.

In a sudden flash, the light explodes out and covers them all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> marrow spills the tea and also the marshmallows apparently

After so long, the war against Salem is over. There is a lot more to fix in this world, but until then, they’re allowed to take a night- or seven- to celebrate. The food fight between RWBY and Jaune, Nora, Oscar and Ren gathers a huge crowd. Apparently it’s tradition.

Qrow leans against the wall and watches the food fight, but he eventually decides sitting is better than looking cool. As soon as he claims the seat closest to the dessert bar, someone slips into the seat next to him.

“Hi,” Marrow says, waving awkwardly. He puts his plate, piled high with chocolate-dipped marshmallows, on his lap as he continues, “It’s okay for me to sit here, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Qrow replies. “Was there something you needed to tell me, or…?”

“Well, I don’t really want to pry, but are you and Clover… soulmates?”

Qrow’s glad he wasn’t drinking his water as he chokes and half-glares at Marrow. “I thought you didn’t want to pry?”

“Sorry,” Marrow says, his tail drooping for a second. Despite his attempts to hide it by shifting in his chair, his tail starts wagging again as he asks, “Is that a yes?”

“Yeah,” Qrow admits, putting the plate of cookies he’s hiding from Ruby under his chair. He takes a sip of water.

“So are you together-together? I mean, I was there on the plane a few years ago, when you had the conversation with Yang. Not to mention that Clover was always flirting with you and Harriet wouldn’t stop teasing him. And then Clover came back after-” Marrow winces- “Team RWBY kicked our asses. He said something about you running off... he was really torn up, now that I think about it. He didn’t stop making sad puppy faces for _days_.”

Qrow blinks, silently willing Marrow to stop rambling as he tries to figure out how to respond. He can definitely picture Clover’s dismayed expression when he left, even after the years that he spent away from him. “Is that so?” He manages weakly, eyes flicking around the room to try to find something else to focus on. 

Marrow opens his mouth to respond, but at that moment, Oscar launches a breadstick that Yang deflects with the turkey on her fist. It flies away from the fight and nails Marrow in the face. He falls off his chair with a loud crash, the marshmallows landing on top of him.

“Sorry, my bad,” Qrow and Oscar say at the same time as both of them stifle a laugh.

Eventually, Marrow struggles back up. “Are we sure that that food fight is really a good idea?”

Qrow just shrugs. “They’re not gonna stop even if you tell them to. Trust me.” He shoots a grin at Marrow. “And I’m pretty sure you’re just saying that because Oscar hit you in the face with a breadstick.”

Marrow turns back to him. “I’m going to go get changed. This chocolate is going to stain. Besides, I think someone else is looking for you.”

Looking up, Qrow barely notices Marrow leaving as he searches for the person Marrow was referring to. No one stands out to him.

Clover appears out of the crowd, a glass of champagne in his hand. He stares at Qrow for a few seconds, averting his eyes as quickly as possible when Qrow gives him a questioning glance. Finally, Clover starts walking towards him. So _he’s_ who Marrow was talking about.

...Lucky him.

For the first few seconds, Qrow stares resolutely at Clover’s boots. Slowly, dramatically, he slides his gaze up to meet Clover’s. Clover notices the sweeping gaze and quirks an eyebrow, but the tension doesn’t leave his shoulders.

“Hey,” Clover says by way of greeting. He suddenly looks relaxed as ever as he sits next to Qrow. “So… you can turn into a bird?”

Qrow nods. “It’s from Ozpin. He needed me to be able to spy on people, and being a crow is a good disguise. Not to mention the name.”

“Who knows?”

“Teams JNPR, RWBY and STRQ, Penny, whoever saw me transform during the last battle, Glynda, Ironwood, Salem and her people, you, and the Ace Ops if you told them. I think that’s it.”

“Can you do it whenever?”

Instead of responding, Qrow shifts into a bird. He hops around the seat and looks up at Clover, making the most obnoxious bird sounds he possibly can.

Clover covers his mouth with a hand to keep himself from laughing. “You’re the _cutest_ bird,” he says when he regains his composure.

Qrow squawks and nearly falls off the chair, wings flailing. He calms down after a second and wonders faintly if crows can blush. Before Clover can say anything else, he returns to his normal form. “I’m not _cute_.”

“Yes, you are,” Clover teases. “I don’t understand how the people you’re spying on don’t immediately try to pet you.”

“It’s happened before,” Qrow groans. “Imagine Cinder Fall reaching out to pet you while she monologues to her minions.” 

Clover gives an involuntary shudder. “I’m not sure I really want to.”

“That’s probably smart.”

“By the way, was it your or Oscar’s fault with the breadstick?”

“I might’ve focused my semblance on him,” Qrow confesses. “But he wouldn’t stop talking, so it was justified.”

“Talking about what?” When Qrow doesn’t answer, Clover’s expression grows more serious and he asks, “It was about the soulmates thing, wasn’t it?”

“Lucky guess?”

“Maybe.” Clover shifts in his chair to face Qrow fully. “Actually, can we talk about that?”

“I’m listening.”

Clover shakes his head and stands from his chair, holding a hand out to Qrow. “Not here. Let’s go somewhere where we’re alone.”

“Buy me dinner first,” Qrow mutters, but he takes Clover’s hand all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> marrow thinks he can catch the breadstick, but he can't


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is entirely gay

They end up on a balcony overlooking the rest of Atlas, which makes Qrow rethink all of his life decisions. If there’s anywhere that looks like it’s supposed to be from Blake’s romance novels, it’s here. The only thing that could make it worse is enough flowers to kill someone. Luckily, Atlas is generally freezing (although that doesn’t stop Clover from never wearing sleeves).

“Look, I have a lot to say,” Clover begins the second the doors close behind them. “So you might want to sit down.” 

Qrow shrugs and perches on the balcony railing. He looks up at Clover and meets his eyes as he waits for him to start talking.

“I’ve been raised all my life to look forward to meeting my soulmate, but I’m assuming you haven’t,” Clover says, scanning Qrow’s expression. “So when we were fighting and Harbinger didn’t do anything and I realized… Well, even with everything that happened, that was the best day of my life. That is, until you left.”

“Um… Sorry?”

Clover only laughs, but something in the otherwise happy sound tells Qrow of the years-old pain. “It’s fine. I _did_ try to arrest you, after all.”

“For the second time.”

“Hey,” Clover says, holding his hands up. “In my defense, you look good in cuffs.”

Qrow coughs and feels his cheeks burn as he looks away. “Please change the subject,” he grits out. 

“Fine. As I was saying, after you left, I was so confused. In all the stories I’ve ever heard, when people find out that they’re soulmates in battle, they always stop fighting, and, well, they kiss as the sun rises. I really shouldn’t have expected my life to be like the fairy tales.” Clover looks him in the eye again, sliding onto the railing next to Qrow. “Because you don’t think much of that, do you?”

“I never thought having a perfect match was really possible. Especially with my semblance. So, no. I didn’t think much of it.”

If Clover notices what Qrow said, he gives no sign. “That’s what I thought. So when you flew away, I didn’t understand. After that, I spent the last few days moping. I was surprised to be alive, of course, and I was sad because you left. But I think it hurt more because…” Clover takes a deep breath. “Because I think I was in love with you before I ever found out we were soulmates.”

Qrow blinks, suddenly hit by the realization that it could have been different if they had just found out a little earlier. He doesn’t respond, his mind still reeling.

“I still am, you know,” Clover says.

Mostly involuntarily, Qrow slips off the railing and turns to face Clover, who cautiously stands. “But… why? After everything, why would you still-”

“Because you’re you,” Clover responds before Qrow can even finish. “You’re hilarious and talented, and even though you’ve been through so much, you still stood against Salem until the very end. And soulmate or no, when we were together in Atlas, I felt like there was nothing else in the world that I needed now that I had you by my side. And it helps that you’re an adorable bird.”

Qrow can only stare at him for a long minute, taking in everything he says. When he’s finally done processing, he admits, “I fell in love with you when we were in Atlas too.”

As he watches Clover’s expression, he knows it’s all he really needs to say. They’re soulmates, after all- Clover understands what he’s trying to tell him. But after Clover’s speech, he thinks he owes him this much. “I loved you because you noticed when I deflected your compliment. Once I discovered my semblance, I knew I couldn’t be around people without hurting them. I never thought that my perfect match would balance that too. And _you’re_ so talented too- and _you_ still fought on, even with the knowledge that Salem was out there. The flirting didn’t hurt, even if I didn’t recognize it. So I loved you- actually, I love you- for all of that.” By the way he knows he’s looking at Clover, he knows that Clover will have understood what he’s left unspoken. That it’s all those reasons and so many more that he can’t quite put into words.

They stand and stare at each other for a long time. Finally, Clover breaks the silence. “Can I kiss you?”

Qrow nods.

Clover leans in so slowly that Qrow can hardly bear it. The second their lips touch, Qrow realizes why the part of fairy tales where soulmates kiss is so dramatic. He’s never felt so complete before, not even when he was just regularly spending time with Clover years ago. 

How long they stand there, he doesn’t know. They finally break apart when Yang and Blake show up, looking pretty good for two people that were just in a food fight. Yang wears her I-was-right-smirk, while Blake’s smile is more of a I-will-be-putting-this-in-my-next-romance-novel expression. Qrow doesn’t know which one he fears more.

“Don’t stop on our account,” Blake says. She opens the door to leave.

Qrow turns back to Clover as they walk off. As Yang starts to close the door, she calls, “Get some, Uncle Qrow!”

“Shut up, Yang!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand that's it. 
> 
> I've never written a love confession before, especially not one that's a whole paragraph of whatever the heck that was. so uh oops hope you liked it. I wrote this over the span of 5 days so there's no planning and probably some inconsistencies. whoops
> 
> next au is kind of a witch au that I don't necessarily have a plan for. I think I'll put the first chapter up tomorrow? (that's why I took so long to put this one up. because I kept ignoring this fic in favor of writing a long ass fight scene)
> 
> anyway, thank you for reading

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot how annoying pronouns are for gay fanfiction


End file.
